


Sunflower

by Rozz



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Adora Needs Therapy (She-Ra), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Autism Spectrum, Body Dysphoria, Bullying, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Discrimination, Dissociation, F/F, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Gender Dysphoria, Heavy Angst, High School, Latina Catra (She-Ra), Lesbian Character, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight, Making Out, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious Adora (She-Ra), Trans Adora (She-Ra), Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Underage Drinking, Underage Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:08:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28454370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rozz/pseuds/Rozz
Summary: "Little Alex felt like that was the happiest day of his life.Today, he and mama went to his favourite park.It didn’t have the most well-kept rides, nor the most extraordinary ones, but the prettiest flowers were planted all around it and he loved looking at them while he was swinging on the little rusty swing, or getting close to them and inhaling the beautiful smell they had.He loved flowers!They were so colourful, like an ocean version of a rainbow (he loved rainbows too!), and they smelled beautifully. They were just so pretty; he couldn’t help but talk always about them!His mama one time took him to this beautiful field full of them and told him he could pick up every flower he liked the most, and later on they would make a big bouquet out of them! That for the longest time had been his favourite dayBut today that had changed.Today he made a friend!"
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 155
Kudos: 225





	1. The duality of a flower.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is the first story that I have ever written, so, please, be nice and give me some suggestions!
> 
> But before you read, I have to say some important disclaimers.
> 
> This story will NOT be all sunshine and happiness.
> 
> I don't know if you read all the tags, but in this story there will be a lot of gender dysphoria, mental breakdowns, self hating, and pretty much a lot of angst. Or, at least, for a big part of it. That's because this story will be divided in three parts: Adora's childhood, Adora's questioning in her early teens and Adora’s recovery in her late teens. Because of that, the first part is a lot of fluff with some angst scattered all over the places, the second part will be mostly only angst and the third part will be basically wholesomeness at its finest.
> 
> Also, important note, there will be NO child abuse in this fic. Both Adora and Catra have loving parents that care very much about them.
> 
> And the most important thing of them all, this is Adora’s journey from her being a little "boy" to being a beautiful powerful lesbian. I have NOT turned Adora into a male nor this relationship into a straight one, it's just that because this story is told by Adora’s point of view, before she realises she's trans she will call herself Alex and use he/him pronouns.
> 
> After telling you this disclaimers, you can finally read this fic, hope you like it!

Little Alex felt like that was the happiest day of his life.

Today, he and mama went to his favourite park.

It didn’t have the most well-kept rides, nor the most extraordinary ones, but the prettiest flowers were planted all around it and he loved looking at them while he was swinging on the little rusty swing, or getting close to them and inhaling the beautiful smell they had.

He loved flowers!

They were so colourful, like an ocean version of a rainbow (he loved rainbows too!), and they smelled beautifully. They were just so pretty; he couldn’t help but talk always about them!

His mama one time took him to this beautiful field full of them and told him he could pick up every flower he liked the most, and later on they would make a big bouquet out of them! That for the longest time had been his favourite day, but today that had changed.

Today he made a friend!

A nice friend!

See, it’s not like Alex was a mean kid or anything. In fact, he was really friendly and always happy! The only problem is that he felt like he didn’t fit in with the other boys at school, not like they were mean with him, but he just didn’t like the way they acted or played and the things they talked about. So, the next logical thing he did was playing with girls, but them instead, were really mean.

“You can’t play with us, you’re a stinky boy!” They always said, “Boys can’t play with girls!”

That really upset him.

Why? He wasn’t so different from them after all! They both were humans and they both liked playing! They also had a lot more in common. He loved playing house and he, uhm... ah! He loved pretty dresses! His mama always said that not all the girls liked those things, but those ones did! Why were they so mean? Was he just annoying?

But that didn’t matter now, because he found a friend!

While he was looking at this really special flower, (special because it had two different colours, how cool is that?! Pretty shades of blue and gold swirling together not so perfectly, but beautifully nonetheless.), he noticed this girl sitting at the bottom of the stairs that led to the slide.

She wasn’t waiting for her turn or anything. In fact, the park was pretty empty that day, but she just looked pretty sad. And lonely.

So, Alex, feeling really sad just by looking at her, started walking towards her, with the hope of making her feel better and hoping, a little bit at the bottom of his heart, to make a new friend.

“Hey, do you wanna look at those flowers with me? They smell really good!” He said, trying to control the funny accent his tooth gap gave him, just to make a good impression.

Now that he could gave her a closer look, he could notice the pretty caramel colour her skin had, her bushy dark hair, the scrapes on her knees, the tiniest little freckles on her cheeks. But still, it wasn’t until she looked at him after his question, that he was able to look at her eyes.

And they were _beautiful._

They were two different colours! But not only that, they were the prettiest shades he had ever seen. Blue the same deepness as the sea alternated by burning amber, the same he just saw in that strange flower seconds ago.

_Pretty._

_Those eyes were burning._

_“_ Why would I want to look at some stupid flowers? They’re useless!”

Wait, what? That’s mean! His mama said that not everything has to have a meaning, things can just be and we can appreciate them for what they are.

“So what?” He said, maybe doing a little pout, “That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them!”

“Why would I want to! They’re not that special!”

“They are!”

“Are not!”

“Are too!”

“Are not!”

“ARE TOO! Come with me, I’ll show you!” He finally almost shouted.

Why was she so mean against flowers? They were pretty and harmless! But that didn’t matter now, because his latest discovery would surely impress... shoot, he didn’t ask for her name!

“Hey, what’s your name?”

“Are you trying to distract me? I still think they’re lame!” she responded.

Wait, no! He didn’t even think of that!

“No! I’m not, I was just being nice!”

“Well, I’m only telling you if you manage to change my mind, so let’s go see _hooow interesting they are!_ ” and with that she got up and started looking at him with expectant eyes.

Well, now he can’t back down from a challenge, can he?

He took her hand and started walking towards the unique flower he saw earlier.

_Her hand is really soft._

He basically dragged her to the bush from earlier and crouched, to then look at her expectantly. And after she did too, he almost shouted an enthusiastic “Look!” and pointed at the unusual flower.

It took her two to three seconds for her to really put it in focus, but when she did, her eyes widen immensely! He could almost see sparkles in them! And he didn’t notice that because he was constantly looking at her, not at all.

That would be weird and rude, wouldn’t it?

_Who even does that?_

“Wow.” He heard a gasp from his right.

He decided to let it go for now.

_Another worry for another time._

“Cool...”

“I told you, didn’t I? Aren’t they amazing?”

But when he turned to look at her, she wasn’t looking at the flower, but just eyeing him with a small warm smile.

_Oh._

That made him feel things to his stomach that he didn’t understand yet. All jiggly and funny.

“I guess you were right. The name’s Catarina, but everyone calls me Catra.”

_Catra._

_That’s pretty._

For some strange reasons, he didn’t say that out loud.

 _“_ Well, Catra, do you wanna be my friend now?” he asked, getting up and hoping with every inch of his heart.

_Please say yes._

Catra just stared at him for a few seconds, with this strange face.

Does he have something on his face?

“Well, maybe I could consider letting you be friends with someone as cool as me if you tell me **your** name.” Even if she had a really cocky tone of voice, Alex could still understand that Catra was just being playful.

 _Shoot!_ He forgot to tell her his name!

“I’m Alex! Nice to meet you!” to that he raised his hand, hoping Catra would take it.

But for a few moments she just stared at him with this jokingly judging glare, making him a little nervous. That didn’t last long though, because immediately after she just took his hand and shouted an excited: “That’s more like it!”.

_Ahh._

His stomach was turning upside down now.

She was holding his hands with a warm and true smile, excitement clearly visible in her eyes, and little Alex couldn’t help but feeling like he was flying high in the sky, but at the same time falling into a puddle onto the floor.

He knows that he should have said something in that moment, but he just could find himself to do it. He had so many thoughts, so why couldn’t he just say one!

“Alex!”

Just then, he heard his mama call him, and despite loving his mama, he couldn’t help but hate her a little bit in that moment.

“I’m sorry squirt, but now we really have to go.” She said, a little sadness in her voice could be heard, but then it was immediately replaced with smugness, “And who’s this little friend here?”.

Alex isn’t really that good at understanding his own emotions, but he was sure in that exact moment that he didn’t like that tone of voice. He decided to let that go for now.

“Mama,” He said, maybe with a little too excitement in his voice, “This is my new friend, Catra!”

His mama smiled widely, as if proud of him (most certainly proud of him), and just said a welcoming: “Hi Catra! I’m sorry to interrupt, but it’s getting really late. We’ll be here next time on Wednesday, right, Alex?” she then looked at him, questioning.

He won’t ever admit pouting at that, but the promise of returning to his favourite park with a friend waiting for him made him forget everything else.

“Sure! Bye Catra!” he said enthusiastically, waving his chubby hand in the air.

“Bye bye, flower freak!” Despite the insult, she had a big smile on her face.

_And Alex couldn’t be happier._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Alex is so cute, I wanna hug him so badly. 
> 
> So, did you like it? Let me know it! I have already prepared the first three chapters that will came out once a week, but don't expect me to update regularly, because im a complete mess.
> 
> Anyway, see you next week!
> 
> Edit: I've added art to the chapter! Also, if you like my drawing and want to see more, go check out my instagram rozinside_!


	2. Every flower is unique in its own way

Ok, Alex was wrong.

_He could definitely be happier._

After saying goodbye to Catra, Alex and his mama went to their big white car, (Alex liked to imagine that was his loyal steed Swifty), and while he was playing with his favourite action figure, she asked him with this strange tone:

“Soo, you made a new friend at the park, Catra, huh?”

Alex was already smiling (he was always smiling!), but when he heard her new friend’s name, he couldn’t help but smile a little wider.

“Yeah!” he said, maybe a little too excited, “Her name’s Catra and she’s really funny! She looked really sad at first, so then I wanted to show her some flowers but she said they were lame, but that’s not true! So I showed her this strange flower I found that had two different colours, you should have seen that, and she was amazed and said that she wanted to be my friend too!”

Alex is pretty sure he was talking too much and too fast.

His mama never made a big deal out of it, not at all, she just always smiled widely whenever he got excited about his passions, but ever since his aunt Barbara said those things when she thought he couldn’t hear her, he became a little self-conscious.

(“ _Mara, dear, can’t you notice that? This boy is_ weird _, I’m telling you!” whispered hastily aunt Barbara, with this fake pitied look, “Just the fact that he can’t connect with his peers should have been a dead give-away! He always talks too much...”_

_“So what? Do you personally have a problem with that?” Alex was sure he never heard his mama so angry..._

_“No! But not only that! He’s way too energetic, he can’t stay put for more than a minute!”_

_“He’s a kid, Barbara, what did you expect?! For him to already be born with perfect etiquette manners?!”_

_“Maybe, but have you noticed his ticks? That thing he does with his with his eyes? I've read horrible things on the internet...”_

_“ENOUGH!”_

_Alex was too scared at that moment; he didn’t want to listen anymore.”)_

But Alex didn’t want to think about that. So, he just focused on his mama’s big smile.

“Really? She seems really nice,” mama said with a sweet voice, “I’m so proud of you sweetie.”

Alex wanted to be brave and strong, just like his favourite super heroes! But the thing is, he’s always been a little of a cry-baby. So, when his mama said that, after everything he went through just to find a friend, he couldn’t help but burst into tears. He really tried not to, he always tried, but he just couldn’t.

“Aw, no baby, what’s wrong? Is it something I said?” mama said, immediately pulling over.

“I-i’m sorry!” he tried saying, but his tears made it really difficult.

“Don’t be, sweetheart, come here.”

Mama just unbuckled her seatbelt and hugged him really hard. But even if Alex loved his mama’s hugs, that just made him cry way harder. And even if the tears kept flowing, he couldn’t help but feel relieved, almost as if a big weight was lifted over his shoulders.

_Maybe keeping the tears hidden is a bad idea._

_Maybe talking with his mama about these things is better._

After a while, his mama pulled away from their embrace, looking at him with her typical warm smile; “Do you want to tell me why you started crying?”

“I just...” he was trying to find the words, but it was hard. “Nobody at school wanted to be my friend and... *sniff*… i-it was really hard for me *sniff*, so when you said you were p-proud of me, I... I...!”

But the words just wouldn’t come out, and it was so hard, and...!

“Don’t worry squirt, I understand.” Now she was caressing his hair softly. “I’m still really proud of you. Now, do you want to go to the grocery store with me and buy some snacks?”

“Yes!” he said, still with some tears in his eyes.

And maybe yes, this accident that happened after is a little sad, but what he discovered the day after made him forget everything!

When he heard the bell at five p.m. of the next day, he just thought it would be one of mama’s friends, (even though she doesn’t have that many). That thought was immediately proven wrong when he heard a new voice.

_Maybe it’s a new friend?_

Little Alex got up from the carpet, put his action figures down, and hid behind the half wall that divided the living room from the corridor. He was never good at controlling his curiosity, his mama never said it was a bad thing though...

“Hi! I’m so sorry if I’m disturbing, but I just wanted to say that I’m your new neighbour. The name’s Selena.” The lady that said this, now that Alex could really look at her, was a really beautiful woman.

Her skin, even though it was a deep brownish colour, seem to shine on its own. Her hair was wavy and messy in a way that was clearly intentional, given how pretty it was. She had a slim but curvy physique, but what drew attention the most to her figure were her eyes. Even though they looked soft, they had this mesmerizing sharp turn, that made you honestly a bit scared.

_They almost looked like they were burning._

“Don’t worry, you’re not disturbing at all, welcome to the neighbourhood! My name is Mara.” Said his mama with her usual cheerful tone “Would you like to have a cup of coffee? If you’re not busy already, when I first moved here it was like hell, with all the unpacking and stuff.”

“I’d actually love that; I feel like I haven’t stopped for a second these past two days.” His mama now was going toward the kitchen, but the lady wasn’t moving still.

“Also, thank you so much for actually talking to me. Eight of ten people just closed the door to my face. The last two just grunted an ok. _Malditos gringos.”_

Alex was sure, even though those last words were barely muttered, that didn’t sound like English at all. But his mama just laughed, so it couldn’t be something bad.

“And that little lady behind you, is she going to come in too?”

The other woman, Selena, smiled brightly and then looked behind her. “I’m sorry, she’s not usually so shy, I guess moving away was a bit of a shock for her. Come on mija, deja de aferrarte a mi falda.”

Alex didn’t notice this before, but behind Selena there was a little figure, almost entirely hidden by her gown, that was desperately trying to wrap herself in it. But when the girl finally came out of her hiding spot, Alex almost wanted to cry.

“I have a son too, by the way, maybe we could try and-”

“CATRA!”

When Alex saw his new friend, he couldn’t help but come out of his hiding spot running and hug her really hard. Her mom, knowing that Catarina was not someone that liked physical touch that much, was pretty much shocked to see her daughter returning the hug after an initial moment of shock.

“Oh,” Alex heard his mama say, “What a beautiful coincidence.”

“Uhm, I don’t think I’m understanding what’s happening...”

His mama was just about to open her mouth, but Alex was too eager at that moment to control himself.

“We met at the park yesterday and nOW WE’RE BEST FRIENDS!”

He then gave Selena a big toothy smile and hoped that she would like him.

_A lot of adults didn’t like him._

But Selena, beside looking a little shocked, didn’t give him the pitied look the adults usually gave him. She was taken aback at first, but then she just smiled smugly and asked:

“So, when were you going to tell me you found a friend, Catarina?”

At that, Catra immediately got out of the half hug they were in and looked away with a little pout.

_Cute._

_“_ There was no reason for me to tell you that, you were going to meet him anyway tomorrow...”

“That’s why you basically begged me to go to the park?”

“MAMÁ!”

Catra was red from head to toe, but Alex couldn’t help but smile widely at the whole ordeal.

Because, guess what?

CATRA IS HIS NEIGHBOUR!

He wanted to scream into his pillow and run around the whole neighbourhood ten times. But not now Alex! Now you have to look cool, just like He-man!

“Stop screaming like a rooster mija, go and play with your new friend while me and Mara do _grown up stuff.”_

Catra looked like a tomato, but his mama just laughed and said: “Go show Catra your new toys, Al.”

A bulb just lighted up in Alex’s mind in that moment.

RIGHT!

His mama bought him some new action figures yesterday! He could show Catra!

“Catra! Let’s go see my new toys! They’re the new ones they made of He-man!”

“Hee-man?” said confused Catra, “Who’s that?”

…

WHAT?!

“YOU DON’T KNOW HE-MAN, THE COOLEST SUPER HERO?!”

His mama was full on laughing at this point, but Alex was _outraged._

 _“_ I HAVE TO TEACH YOU EVERYTHING!” basically screamed Alex, “BYE MAMA, BYE SELENA, WE’RE GOING!”

And with that, Alex proceeded to spend one of the few afternoons he would never forget.

_His first full day with Catra._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! Things are getting angsty! I didn’t add art in this chapter because I really didn’t know what scene to draw, but I promise the next one is going to have it! Also, if you like my drawings, go check out my Instagram rozinside_!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter, see you next week!


	3. Not everyone can understand the beauty of flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Bullying, dissociation, mild dysphoria.

In the end they went to the park anyway.

His mama was trying to say things like: “But you already saw each other yesterday sweetie.”, but Alex wanted to hear none of it. Because you know what?

Being with Catra made him feel _ecstatic._

Every time she was near him his heart started beating fast and he couldn’t stop smiling. Sure, Alex was a very happy kid, always smiling and stuff, but Catra made him smile even harder.

Not only that, but it was so easy talking to her.

Usually everyone got annoyed when he started talking too much, but Catra just listened to him patiently with this small smile on her face, even when the things he talked about didn’t interest her that much (and he has a strong feeling that He-man isn’t one of Catra’s favourite things).

What little Alex is trying to say here is that Catra is a real friend that cares about him.

So, Alex, being the not at all intense person he is, wanted to see Catra every single second of his life. Obviously, that isn’t possible, but still, let him want this totally not creepy thing.

Because it isn’t creepy, right?

_Right?_

Anyway, the next day at the park was even better than the other two encounters. This because Catra was actually starting to open up a bit, and boy, if she had a lot of energy.

Alex usually looked at flowers or went to the swing when he visited the park, but with Catra that was simply not possible. In the span of ten minutes, they managed to go around the whole park six times while playing catcher and running like crazies. But even if his lungs wouldn’t stop burning, he couldn’t help but laugh loudly.

The only reason why they stopped was because they discovered a pretty ladybug standing on a leaf, and proceeded staring at it in awe for minutes.

“You know what this reminds me of? That show where there’s the ladybug lady and the black cat guy saving the city from those funny villains.” said at one point Catra, still looking at the bug.

Alex’s eyes lit up once again.

“YOU KNOW THAT SHOW TOO? IT’S AMAZING!”

It is no secret now that Alex can’t control his excitement nor his voice, but he still was a little self-conscious about it. But Catra only smiled wide.

Catra’s smile made him feel things in his stomach, but even that strangely pleasant feeling couldn’t stop the existential dread that took him over after he said that. Suddenly, his mind was filled with bad memories.

He used to really love that show, to the point that he pestered his mama day and night to buy him one of the show’s action figures and then bring it to school. But there was only one problem with that.

His favourite super hero wasn’t the cat guy, but Ladybug herself. But can you blame him? She’s, like, super cool!

He never saw a problem with that, even because his mama never said that it was a bad thing, so when he went to school that day and showed his new Ladybug action figure, he expected awe from his classmates.

_But that awe never came._

At least, not till the end.

Because at first some of his classmates came near him and started talking enthusiastically about the show with him, but then Derek, (Alex never liked that guy), started saying mean things.

(“ _Oh my god, is that the lame bug lady?” said Derek in a mocking voice._

_See, nobody really liked Derek, but because of his intimidating aura (and his punches) everybody couldn’t help but feel scared when he showed up._

_But Alex wanted to be brave like his favourite super heroes, and like Ladybug when she confronted the mean blond girl._

_“Yeah, do you have a problem with that?” tried saying Alex with all the threat he could find in his body._

Derek didn’t like that.

_“Oh look, the little pussy is trying to look all big and fierce, but he can’t even stop playing with girls’ toys.”_

_P-pussy? T-that's a really bad word!_

_“Ladybug is not a girls’ toy! And even if it was, girls are really cool!”_

_“ Uuuh, girls are really cool! Tell me,_ Alexandra, _do you wear dresses in your past time?”_

_Alex wasn’t liking where things were going, even because all the other kids won’t take his side with how scared they were of Derek._

I should go to a teacher before things get worse!

_But before Alex could even move, Derek and his “friends” already shoved him on the ground with too much force._

_“Now,_ Alexandra, _let’s see how strong this bug lady is!”_

_After saying that, Derek put the action figure on the ground and got on it with both of his feet and with all of his weight._

The toy couldn’t help but break in many pieces.

_After that, everything was a blur, but Alex could just remember how sore his body felt._

_When his mama came pick him up and questioned him, he told her that he fell down a tree in the playground and broke the figure._

_He wanted to be strong like his favourite super heroes after all.)_

“Alex, what’s wrong? Why are crying?” Said Catra worried, “Did I say something wrong?”

Ah.

Why couldn’t he help but cry every time he thought about it?

But his head couldn’t stop spinning.

Was it so wrong to like a female superhero?

Was it so wrong to like girls’ toys or clothes?

Should he have been offended when Derek called him _Alexandra_?

_Why wasn’t he offended?_

Why did it bother him so much?

W-why... why!-

_Warmth._

_There was warmth all over him._

What-

Oh.

Catra was hugging him.

_Catra was very warm._

_“_ *Sniff*!”

Was... was Catra crying?

“C-Catra?” said Alex, now worried.

“*Sniff!”

“No! Catra! Are you crying?” Alex would feel so bad if that was the case, so he reluctantly got out of the hug and looked at Catra’s face.

_Oh no._

Catra did not only have puffy eyes, but she was full on ugly crying!

Her face was really red, probably because Catra was scrunching it so much, and it was wet all over, both from salty tears coming from her eyes and from a little snot coming from her little nose.

“I-I’m sorry, *sniff*, b-but you just s-stopped all of a sudden and s-started crying, and even if I called you, y-you weren’t responding,” now Catra seemed a lot a like him, babbling words really fast, “a-and I f-feel so sad for m-making you cry! A-and, and!-” but Catra just stopped after that and started crying even harder.

N-no!

Catra did nothing wrong!

“No, Catra, it wasn’t you!” Alex hurried saying, “I was thinking about something sad and you helped a lot with your hug!”

“I, *sniff*, I did?” asked Catra, not crying anymore.

“Yes! You’re my best friend and just being with you makes me happy!”

_Being with her also makes his heart race uncontrollably, but that would be funny to say._

Alex wasn’t sure what to expect after saying those words, but he wasn’t surely expecting Catra crying _even more_.

“R-Really?!” she sputtered between sobs, _“_ Oh, Alex, you’re my best friend too and you make me really happy too!”

Okay, now Alex was crying too.

“You really think that?” asked Alex, already feeling his cheeks wet.

“Yes!” answered Catra.

“CATRA!” then shouted Alex, while shoving himself forward to hug his best friend.

“ALEX!” responded Catra while returning the hug.

And for them it might have been a really touching moment, but when their mothers saw them embraced like that while crying uncontrollably, they couldn’t help but feel a little worried about the whole ordeal.

Well, one thing is certain, that was the start of a very special and unbreakable bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand now I feel bad.  
> Let me know what you guys think!


	4. A flower doesn't need chemicals to look beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: mild dysphoria

Today, little Alex was going to Catra’s house.

The idea was all Catra’s, and it came while they were playing in Alex’s room, something that now was becoming a sort of habit (to Alex’s immense happiness).

And even though the idea was Catra’s, it all started with a comment Alex made while they were playing with his action figures.

“Makeup sure makes you really pretty, but doesn’t it bother your face after a while?” he asked Catra, even though it was more of a rhetorical question, while looking at the figure she was playing with, a super tall and muscular female super-hero with tons of red lipstick and heavy eyeliner.

“I dunno, my mamá never says a thing about it.” answered Catra while frowning and doing a little pout, clearly thinking about something.

But Alex didn’t have the time to think too long about it, because Catra suddenly shouted beside him.

“AH!” she said, maybe too loudly, while standing up from her previous sitting position on the floor, “Why don’t we see for ourself?!”

“What do you mean by that?” asked Alex confused.

Catra’s eyes started shining, almost as if she was waiting for Alex just to ask that question.

_Her eyes are cute when they sparkle like that._

“I know where my mamá keeps her makeup and she has tons of it!” she said enthusiastically, while crouching again near him and holding his hands, “We could take it without her noticing and try it!”

_Her hands are soft- wait, what?_

_“_ What do you mean “ _without her noticing”_? Won’t she be mad?” he then asked, clearly worried.

His mama doesn’t like when he takes her things without asking.

One time he saw a strange piece of clothing with two cups hanged on the handle of mama’s door, took it and asked her what it was.

His mama then scolded him about taking it without asking for permission, while blushing. It was really pretty though, because it was covered in pretty frills.

He loved things covered in pretty frills, especially cute dresses!

Wait, he’s getting distracted, Catra’s talking.

“Don’t worry about that! She won’t be mad if she doesn’t notice!” said then Catra, while doing a little wink.

Alex still wasn’t sure about it, but if Catra is happy then it doesn’t really matter.

So that’s why, when Selena came to pick up Catra a while later, Catra immediately asked her if Alex could come to their house the next day.

Selena was a bit confused of all of that enthusiasm coming off her daughter, but she agreed happily with a smile on her face.

When the next day Alex’s mama took him to Catra’s house across the street, he was actually pretty excited.

He never went to a friend’s house before!

That’s why Alex started overthinking about every single outcome that could happen that day and prepared a backpack with all the things he may need.

Said it like that made it look like it was full of special tools for surviving in the wild, but in reality, it was just full of toys.

When Selena opened the door, she welcomed him with her usual warm but playful smile (that was so much like Catra’s) and, after saying goodbye to his mama, guided him inside.

The house, even though it wasn’t that big, was warm and welcoming, much like its owner. The first room you saw entering the house was an open space where the kitchen, dining room and living room were putted together, and at the end of it all there was a big door window that led to the backyard, much like his house (that because every house in the neighbourhood was made from the same mold basically, or so his mama told him).

Every bit of furniture was made of wood, with the exception of some red-orangy tones scattered here and there. But the thing that caught his eyes the most were the colourful strange decorations that were scattered all over the places.

But before his eyes could even search for his best friend, he heard a voice coming from the couch that was facing away from him.

“Is that the new little friend of our cute _hermanita?”_

When Alex looked for the source of the voice, he saw a guy that was way older than him poking from the orange couch at the centre of the room that looked suspiciously like Catra.

Almost like a comic film, two other heads started poking from the couch.

“You’re right Ale! It looks like it’s him!”

“Look at his backpack! It’s almost two times his size, so cute!”

Okay, now Alex was starting to blush.

And be a little annoyed.

It’s not like he doesn’t like being called cute or pretty, the opposite actually! But the way they were saying it, it made him look like he was this tiny little thing with a pacifier on his mouth, and even though Alex has never been good at understanding his own emotions, he didn’t like that feeling one bit.

He wanted to look big and fierce!

And brave!

But that didn’t seem like the impression at the moment.

“Ah, look! He’s frowning!”

“And doing a little pout!”

“So cute!”

Aaaaah!

Stop!

And at that moment, right when he looked like a very bright tomato, he heard a voice coming from the stairs at his right.

“STOP IT! YOU’RE SO ANNOYING!”

Ah.

Here’s Catra.

“Ah, here’s our little princess!” said the bigger one (Ale?), with a tone that wasn’t entirely mocking, but hid a fair amount of fondness.

“I’M NOT A PRINCESS!”

Now it was Catra’s turn at being a tomato. It made him feel less lonely.

She then stomped angrily down the stairs, took his hand and started dragging him upstairs.

“Come on niños, stop pestering that little boy, I like him very much.”

“OH MY GOD, MOM!”

“I DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING WRONG, DROP YOUR ATTITUDE.”

It was right at those words that Catra shut close the door to her room, still redness in her cheeks, but Alex could only feel a strange feel of warmness at Selena’s words.

_She likes him very much._

_“_ I’m sorry for all of that, they’re all so annoying,” said then Catra, still facing the door, “the only one that I can stand in this family is my papi.”

But Alex was too occupied taking in Catra’s room.

It wasn’t impressive or anything, just a normal room that had warm orange walls and wood furniture like the rest of the house, but just the fact that he was in _Catra’s_ room, made his heart beat a little bit faster.

_Ahh._

_It even smells like Catra._

_Wait, what? Alex, stop being weird!_

_“_ Cool, right?” said then Catra while getting closer to him, “That’s the privilege of being the only girl in the family, I get to have my own room!”

Alex didn’t understand that concept too much.

After all, his family was formed by him and his mama. Meanwhile Catra’s had so many people, it honestly overwhelmed him a bit. But still, he took Catra’s word and saw this as a super cool privilege.

“The other three morons are all in the same room. Anyway, you didn’t forget about our plan, didn’t you?”

Ah, right!

The makeup!

“No, I haven’t!” he answered, maybe a little bit defensive.

“Yes, you totally have!”

“No, I haven’t!”

He then started chasing Catra in the tiny room, for actually no reason other than it was fun.

_And he loved Catra’s laugh._

In fact, when he caught her and dragged her with him on the ground, they both couldn’t stop laughing.

“Stop distracting me,” said Catra while getting up and heading for the door “dumbass!”

“Catra! That’s a very bad word!”

But Catra only showed him her tongue and started running towards the corridor.

“Catraa! Wait for me!” he said, getting up from his spot on the floor and started following her.

He then found her in front of a door, looking at him expectantly.

“So, here’s the plan.” she then whispered to him, “My mamá won’t come upstairs for a while, but just to be sure, you’ll stay here and give me a signal if she comes, okay?”

Alex was still very nervous about the whole thing, but he nodded anyway.

In the end, Selena never came upstairs, and the two little devils manage to snuck all of her makeup to Catra’s room.

And _boy,_ if it was a lot.

“Ahhh!” Catra had sparkles in her eyes.

Well, it’s not like Alex was different, but still, she was very cute.

Selena’s makeup was a lot and there were so many colours to choose for the eyes! Looking at them from their position on the ground made it look like they were looking at a sea rainbow!

There were even colours he had never seen before!

His excitement could only grow at the prospect of looking like one of those gorgeous models he saw on magazines. The boys always looked so boring, but the girls were absolutely stunning. He couldn’t help but imagine himself as one of those models on the runaway with tons of rainbow makeup.

And... and...

MUSCLES!

Tons of muscles!

It would be so cool to be a pretty buff lady with flowing hair and colourful makeup!

Wait, what?

No, you can’t be a lady Alex, you’re a boy!

_But boys are so boring..._

Wait, is Catra going to give him a boyish makeup?

“I’m going to make you so pretty, you have no idea.” Catra said and then grabbed a random brush and went straight for the blush.

_Well, that reassures him a bit._

“I’ve watched some YouTube tutorials on my mamá’s phone, so I’m a _real expert.”_ she then reassured him, but it still couldn’t stop his nervousness.

But then, he thought that he was with Catra, so all of it disappeared in playfulness.

“Ooh then, mighty Catra, may I ask for a red and gold look?” Alex was never good at telling jokes, he never understood them too well, but with Catra it only felt natural.

“Of couurse, my pretty damsel!” answered Catra with laughter in her voice.

Alex didn’t know for how long Catra worked, but the feeling of Catra’s hands on his face while their faces were really close to each other was a really good one.

_His heart was going boom, boom!_

But Alex could never see Catra’s final masterpiece, because before she could finish, Selena entered the room with a trail of snacks and fruit juices.

“Are you kids hungry? I’ve brought some-” but she never finished her sentence, because when she saw them, she just stopped in her track with her mouth open.

Alex was expecting everything, from scolding, to screaming, to disappointment, but he surely wasn’t expecting Selena laughing at the top of her lungs.

Both kids just stood there awkwardly watching a woman in her thirties basically falling down on the floor for laughing too much.

What the two kids didn’t know was that Alex in that moment didn’t look like a beautiful super model, but more like a clown that submerged his head in a rainbow.

There were even glitters on random part of his face!

( _I saw that in a makeup tutorial!_ Would have probably said Catra.)

After that beautiful sighting, Selena would have probably taken more time to recollect herself, but a sound, that sounded suspiciously like a sob, made her stop immediately.

One would have thought that it was coming from our favourite sweet crybaby, Alex, but when Selena glanced up, she noticed that her assumption was wrong. Because the sound wasn’t coming from him, but from our troublemaker Catra.

See, Catra had always been a particular child, mostly because she wanted other people to see her as a tough kid, but the thing that even her own family always forgot was that she was secretly a sweetheart and cared enormously about other people, especially the ones she loved the most.

From crying when a character got hurt in cartoons to drawing special cards to members of her family when they felt sad, Catra wasn’t really as uncaring as she pretended to be.

So, when she saw her mamá laughing at her work, she couldn’t help but feel sad.

She put so much effort in it!

But when her mamá noticed her face, she immediately came to hug her.

“No, mija, don’t cry! I love it!” said Selena in a sweet voice “It just took me off guard at first...”

“F-for, *sniff*, for real?” asked hesitantly Catra.

“For real.” she reassured her with a firm voice.

Alex had watched the scene unfolding before his eyes a little baffled, but just from that conversation he could notice how much Catra and her mother cared for each other.

But still, watching Catra cry made him sad. A lot.

But he definitely didn’t have puffy eyes!

N-no...

“Now,” said Selena while turning towards him, “I still can’t believe how you managed to drag Alex into this fantasy of yours, mija.”

“I didn’t drag him into a fantasy!” said Catra defensively, “He asked me to do his makeup!”

“Oh, silly! Boys hate makeup.” said her mother, the turned to him, “But Alex is a real sweetheart, he probably just wanted to make you happy, right, Alex?”

…

What?

Was- was he supposed to not like makeup?

Was he supposed to lie?

He’s pretty sure he was making a funny face right now, because Catra was looking at him strangely.

But then Selena didn’t give him the time to answer. She just got up at some point and said:

“Alright kids! Now I’m going to do your makeup, and you’re going to look _gorgeous.”_

 _“_ Follow me!” she then headed to the door.

But before getting out, she said with a very scary tone: “And no more stealing my makeup. Understand Catra?”

“B-but-” Alex heard her trying to protest, but before she could continue, Selena interrupted her.

_“I’m getting the_ _chancla.”_

“Okay mamá, no more makeup!” said then Catra with a smile, but Alex had the strong suspicion that it was fake.

She looked kinda terrified.

But that wasn’t the moment to think about that, because now they had to receive a makeover!

They went downstairs and sat on the orangy couch, while Selena wiped off Alex’s makeup and started working on both of them.

Alex in the end never got to see Catra’s masterpiece, but he believed it was a beautiful piece of work, just because it was Catra that did it.

_And he would love anything that Catra did._

When Selena finished, she gave them a mirror to look at themself and...

Alex was honestly a lot disappointed.

Not because Selena wasn’t good at makeup, not at all, in fact, Catra looked absolutely stunning with her delicate winged eyeliner and her bloody red lipstick, but for him... only a little eyeliner pencil.

Maybe some black eyeshadow around the eyes?

But still, it was nothing compared to Catra.

But why?

Has he been a bad kid?

Did he have an ugly face?

When Selena went up to grab her phone that she left in Catra’s room, Catra got near him and whispered:

“Don’t worry about mamá’s work, she probably did it that way because you’re a boy.”

Oh.

_Oh._

_Why did that hurt that much?_

“Don’t worry, I know you like makeup,” she then told him reassuringly, “When I get my own, I'll give you a real model look.”

At those words, Alex turned his head to Catra so fast that the world started spinning.

When he saw Catra’s characteristic sweet smile, he couldn’t help but return it with a brightness of 5000 watts.

When Selena then returned to them and took a selfie of the three of them, he wasn’t as sad as he was before.

Because the prospect of a makeover session with Catra when they were both older was enough to keep him happy for a lot of time. And also, the promise that:

_Catra will always have his back._


	5. The warmth of a flower.

It was the last week of summer, but also the happiest little Alex has ever lived.

See, for every last week of summer Alex could remember (which weren’t that many, to be honest), Alex would most likely be sited on the floor of the living room in front of his big tv, watching one of his favourite super hero cartoons and eating chocolate ice-cream with his mama.

Honestly, that sounded like a very good time if you asked him.

Like, chocolate ice-cream!

He absolutely LOVED chocolate ice-cream!

More like he absolutely loved sweets.

Okay, maybe he just really loved eating in general.

BuT CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM!

Anyway, he never had a problem with those kinds of plans before, but now his idea of “great last week” has been completely twisted!

He was on a road trip!

And not just a regular road trip.

He was with Catra!

ON A ROAD TRIP!

Okay, calm down Alex, deep breaths.

To be fair, Selena came with them too and was actually seated in the front seat of Mara’s big, white car. In fact, this wasn’t something out of the blue, but a very organised trip.

It all started two days before, when Alex and Catra were playing hide and seek at his house while their moms were drinking coffee. They actually were getting along really well, to the point of calling each other regularly and meeting up a lot. Alex couldn’t really complain about that.

More time with Catra!

But that’s not the point. The point is that, while they were just chatting, they started talking about how a road trip together would be lovely.

Unfortunately for them, Catra had always had an inhuman hearing.

Selena honestly found it really annoying when she was whispering about a surprise for Catra with his father in the kitchen and she would be able to hear it from her locked room.

Without even explain to Alex what was happening, she immediately got out of her hiding spot and started sprinting towards the kitchen, pestering them about actually doing it.

Alex didn’t understand at first what was happening, but when he caught on, he joined Catra with his pleas.

Selena and Mara weren’t really sure about their idea before, but now seeing their kids so excited, they couldn’t help but comply.

AND THANK GOD!

THEY’RE HERE!

Well, they’re actually in the car right now.

They just left the city, so the view outside of the car window was filled with big mountains and pretty pink clouds.

This because it was really early. It didn’t bother Alex that much, he loved waking up early! He didn’t know why, but living in a quiet world for even just an hour made him feel somewhat at peace with himself.

But he suspected Catra didn’t like it that much.

“*Yaaawn*”

“You alright Catra? You look pretty down...” asked her Alex, but he was pretty sure he knew what was the problem.

“Down? Alex, the sun is not even up yet, how can you be so energetic?” she answered, with glossy and unfocused eyes.

“Dunno, I like waking up early.”

“You’re a dummy.”

“Why?!”

“You just are.”

Even the sleepiness couldn’t stop Catra’s teasing, but Alex couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious

What if she was just bored?

What if she didn’t want to be here?

What if her mother forced her to be here?

“Alex? What’s with that funny face you’re making?” said Catra, waking him up from his thoughts.

“I-I’m...” he started saying, his voice trembling a little, “I’m sorry...”

“You’re... you’re sorry?”

“Yeah... you had to wake up this early, a-and you probably didn’t even want to come here...s-sorry...”

_Ah._

_Why was the world blurry?_

“See? I was right, you’re a dummy.” said Catra while... poking him on the forehead?

_What?_

“W-why?!” he asked, maybe being a little mad.

“I was the one that pestered our parents to do this trip!”

_Sugar snaps, she’s right!_

_“_ Besides, why wouldn’t I want to be here? You’re my bestie after all.” she then said, looking away on the window.

_B-bestie?_

“I’M YOUR BESTIE?!”

Catra basically jumped off her seat after he said (screamed) that. They both didn’t notice that, but even Mara and Selena turned to see what was going on.

“What’s wrong with you?! Don’t scream so suddenly!”

Oops!

“And more importantly, wasn’t it obvious?! Didn’t you say we’re best friends?!”

“But you agree with that?”

“OBVIOUSLY! I would have said so if I didn’t, you dummy!”

His heart was warm suddenly.

“C-CATRA!” he then screamed, hugging her very tightly.

Catra almost didn’t want to return it, given how dumb her best friend was being.

She did it anyway.

“You stupid dummy.” she whispered, while rubbing his back.

Little did they know, their mothers had watched the whole scene, now awwing at them, overwhelmed by their cuteness.

After the hug, both kids started watching out of their windows, now in silence.

But that couldn’t last long.

We’re talking about Alex after all.

“Hey, Catra?” he asked, while swinging his legs in his seat.

He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t stay put for more than a few seconds.

“Tell me, dummy.”

“Stop calling me that!”

“But that’s the truth.”

“It isn’t- anyway, can I ask you a question?”

“You already did.”

…

“Why are you like this?”

“You like it.” she then turned towards him, while bleeping.

_Ahh._

No, Alex, concentrate!

“Anyway, why did you bop my forehead?” he asked, still bothered by that weird action.

“Mmmm...” now she was looking at him with this blank stare. He was starting to get used to it.

“You have a big forehead.” she then concluded, her face still very serious.

“Wha- no! I don’t!” he said, very mad.

He wouldn’t have admitted that out loud, but he was blushing quite a bit.

“Yes, you do! Look!” she then put her hand on his forehead, (her hand, on his forehead, her _warm_ hand near his _face_ \- stop Alex!) raised his bangs and passed him the little mirror that was on the back pocket of the front sit.

She... was right.

That doesn’t mean he would admit it though.

“Mhpm.” he only let out of his mouth, even redder than before.

“You know I’m right! Look, we could play tris on it!”

“Stop it!”

After that, they started bantering in their usual playful manner, saying “snarky” remarks fort and right to see who could fluster the other more, (or Alex liked to think that, but in reality, it was just Catra teasing him endlessly and Alex becoming more similar to a tomato the more the time passed.)

That didn’t last long though, because after a while they gradually shifted into looking at the outside clouds and saying to the other what they looked similar too.

“Look, it looks like a zebra!”

“Where can you see the zebra there, dummy?”

“Doesn’t that part there look like their funny hair?”

“Wait, I can kinda see that...”

Needless to say, the trip, which was fairly long, felt like it lasted only a bunch of minutes to our two kids, too occupied into playing together.

Our little Alex and Catra were almost sad when the car stopped.

That didn’t last long, though, because the sight before them was _majestic._

They were surrounded by trees that were _gigantic_ , (Alex couldn’t help but feel really tiny just by looking at them), and from where his mama parked the car, he could see a big lake in the distance, while the chirping of the birds filled his ears.

“Wow...” he couldn’t help but whisper, still looking at the scenery with wide eyes.

“Brr... I’m freezing.” he heard from his left, then saw Catra hugging herself while shivering.

True, it was still Summer to be honest, but they were pretty high, on a big mountain, (he couldn’t remember the name though, but he was sure his mama told him at some point) and the sun was just starting to set, so it was pretty cold.

He didn’t feel it that much though. After all, his mama always told him that he was a furnace.

Remembering that, he half hugged Catra, hoping to make her warmer.

“Oh my god, you’re so warm, how can you do that?!” Catra immediately said, hugging him fully.

_Oh god._

His heart was beating really fast.

_Can Catra hear my heartbeat?_

He tried shoving those invasive thoughts in the back of his mind and started rubbing Catra’s back to make her happier.

He loved making Catra happy!

He doesn’t know why, but seeing Catra smile made his chest feel warm.

Their hug was interrupted by Catra’s mom giving them a fluffy blanket each and telling them to wait here while her and his mama organised the chairs and all the other stuff.

Little Alex was glad for the blanket, but couldn’t help but feel sad that now he couldn’t hug Catra anymore.

“Where are you going, dummy?” Said Catra after a few seconds, “You are my blanket now, so you have to act like it and hug me until I don’t feel cold anymore.”

Alex was pretty sure that him going from doing a little pout to a thousand-watt smile would have been a funny thing to watch, but he didn’t care, so he just got close to Catra again and hugged her.

He probably shouldn’t have liked that much Catra calling him a “blanket”, but the idea only made his heart warm.

Heart, what’s wrong with you?!

They waited for their moms to set everything up cuddled on the dirt ground, (Don’t worry, they had a towel under them!), while their moms in the distance couldn’t help but get out squeaky sounds at the sight of their kids cuddled like that.

_(“Are you seeing them, Mara?! My fucking heart, I can’t!”_

_“They’re so cute, aren’t they!”_

_“Look at your son, he has his puffy cheeks all red and he’s smiling like crazy!”_

_“Catarina instead is trying so hard to look cool, it warms my heart.”_

_“Do you think...”_

_“Do I think what?”_

_“You know, the blushing, the hugging...”_

_“Selena, I think we shouldn’t force them.”_

_“But...”_

_“No buts.”_

_“I wouldn’t mind being your sister-in-law, you know.”_

_“Selena!”_

_“What!”)_

When their moms finally called them and told them to come, the sun was now bright in the sky, and the air was a little warmer.

They got up from their spot to head to their little “camp”, but before Alex could even walk, Catra stopped him with saying “The last one that gets there is a dummy!” and then started running furiously towards their moms.

_That’s not fair!_

She didn’t even wait for him!

He started running too as fast as he could, but they both knew who was going to win from the start. Catra was a _missile,_ once she started running, it was impossible for you to catch her. Also, Alex has always been a little chubby, even because he never cared about sports that much.

Anyway, despite his competitive nature, he couldn’t care less about winning while running, jiggling uncontrollably and shouting: “It’s not fair!” at a cocky Catra.

But when they both arrived at the start of the lake, they couldn’t help but stare intensely at the water.

It was so clean!

You could see every shiny rock on the bottom!

Well, to be fair, the cleanliness of the water was only persistent for the first foot of it, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t fascinate him.

It almost was as if the water was calling him.

“Mama!” he shouted, excited, “Can I take my boots off?”

“Sure, squirt.” said his mama, “But only wet your feet a little, don’t go far.”

“Okie!”

He started taking off his little rainbow boots to get into the water.

“At least Alex knows how to enjoy the lake, my Catarina for some reason hates-”

“Mamá! Can I get off my boots too?” said Catra, with a somewhat determined face.

Selena couldn’t help but look at her daughter with a baffled look.

“S-sure, mija.”

Catra then proceeded in taking off her boots too and joining Alex in lightly wetting their feet and staring in awe at the water.

“Mara!”

“Selena, no!”

* * *

Both parents had the suspicion that their kids would be kind of bored staying near a lake in the middle of nowhere for an entire day, but when they saw them both dozed off on the towel set on the ground while the sun was setting off, with little smiles on their faces, they couldn’t help but feel a little stupid at even thinking that.

_Because that day will forever be imprinted in Alex’s mind._


	6. The discovery of a new sunshine - The passion of a flower

After the first time, going to Catra’s house had become something he could call routine.

_Yes!_

_More time with Catra!_

So, as always, right now, four days before the first day of school, he was playing with Catra in her courtyard.

They weren’t actually playing together, like at tag or something, but currently he was watching Catra draw a butterfly with some crayons.

You should’ve seen it!

Catra was so good!

When she confessed to him earlier that she liked to doodle, she almost looked ashamed of it, as if it was a bad thing. It absolutely isn’t! Alex made that pretty clear to Catra.

He also loves doodling!

Only specific things though, like He-man characters or, a cooler thing...

Himself as a superhero!

He _loved_ drawing himself with big muscles and red capes!

Oh, and flowy long hair!

He knows he’s not supposed to have really long hair, but they are so cool!

Anyway, when he asked Catra if they could draw together and Catra had agreed with sparkly eyes (She was so cute), he expected something normal, not for Catra to be a prodigy! Her drawings were amazing! She even did the shadows!

So now, instead of drawing with her, he was looking at Catra, maybe too intensely, work at her masterpiece.

But Catra was just so cool!

First the makeup, then the running, now the drawing, he couldn’t help but praise Catra at her extraordinary abilities!

She didn’t like it very much though, because every time he did it Catra would call him dummy and not look at him in the face.

She even blushed in shame!

But when she got to the good part of her drawing, the shadows (and he had no idea how she did those), they both heard a loud sound of a slamming door coming from the front door.

Little Alex had no idea what was happening, but Catra knew fully well, and she already felt annoyed with every part of her being.

“Hey princess! You know what time it is, so unless you want a ball shoved in the back of your head, go to your room.”

Who?

Ah, it was Catra’s brothers.

What were their names again?

“Look, it’s the cute little friend again!”

Okay, now he remembered why he didn’t know their names.

“Stop it, you’re all so annoying!” Catra said, angry, “Let’s go Alex, now they have to play _soccer,_ eww.”

“Soccer?” he asked confused, “What is that? Is it like volleyball?”

Him and Catra were heading probably to her room, but after he said that he was immediately stopped by someone taking his hand.

“Hey kid.” said the older guy.

Alex would have never admitted it, but he was hella scared at that moment.

Can you blame him? The other boy was older and bigger than him, and had this scary face at that moment!

When he opened his mouth, he was ready to flinch, but...

“Do you really don’t know what soccer is?!”

W-what?

“Oh my god, seriously?!” said the middle one, “You’re shitting me!”

T-that's a bad word!

“Am I... supposed too?” he asked, confused.

It’s not like it’s a super important thing like... dunno, He-man.

“Alex, don’t listen to them, they’re just-”

“OBVIOUSLY!” shouted the bigger one.

“Not it isn’t!” then said Catra, while she stopped holding his hand and confronted his bigger brother.

Alex could see her trying to make her herself seem bigger, probably to look scarier.

It wasn’t working though, she just looked adorable.

“Alex isn’t lame like you, that’s why he doesn’t know what it is!”

Oh.

_Oh._

That made his heart beat so fast, he was scared it would get out of his chest.

“What are you saying, princesa?-” “I’M NOT A PRINCESA!” “Knowing what soccer is and playing it, is like, being cool 101.”

To that, Alex started talking again.

“R-really?”

“Obviously!”

“Alex, don’t listen to them, they’re-”

“But don’t worry kid, we’re going to teach you everything!”

They... are?

“We are?”

“No, you’re not!”

“Let your little friend decide for himself, princesa.”

“Andro, I swear to god if you keep calling me-”

“So? The choice is yours!”

They’re letting him... decide?

But, Catra said it’s a bad thing!

Buut, he also was very curious...

“Catra...” he then started, turning towards her, “Maybe, I should try it...”

“But, Alex!”

“Don’t worry! Just a match, and we’re going back to play. Oh, and you can play too!”

To that, Catra made a disgusted face.

“Who, me? Never! I’ll just watch you from the side”

Then she poked his forehead and said: “Good luck, dummy.”, then proceeded to climb their tree (how?!) and started staring at them.

Well, now that Catra wasn’t by his side anymore, he couldn’t help but feel really scared.

“Ok, kid.” said again... Andro?, drawing the attention back to himself, “Now we’re going to teach you the rules of one of the best sports in the world, not that horrible _football_ everyone here seems to like...”

Oh, he knew football!

“Is it similar?”

“Not at all. Just a badly ripped off version.”

Oh.

“Anyway, the rules are simple. To make points, you have to kick the ball into that net,” to that, he pointed at a weirdly shaped net. There were actually two of them. “and you can only use your feet. No hands! You’ll have a penalty if you do!”

“O-ok.”

“You also have to protect your own net, on the other side,” oh, so that’s why there are two, “because it is played with two teams that go against each other. Usually, there’s a specific person that defends the net, but we’re not enough people.”

Ok, it actually wasn’t that difficult.

“Now, we’ll play for ten minutes, for the first match to warm up, who has the most points wins. Is everything clear?”

He... thinks so?

“Y-yeah...”

“Ok, now, we’ll play together, and while we’re playing, I’m going to give you some tips, is that alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s ok.”

“Now, let’s start. Guys, prepare the timer!” he shouted in the end to the other two guys.

Wait...

“I’m sorry!” he said, maybe too loudly.

Well at least they all heard him.

“You... you didn’t tell me your names...”

“Shit, you’re right!” said always the older one, now starting to introduce himself, “I’m the older and cooler guy, Alejandro!”

“Well, that’s not true.”

“The moany one is Luis” he said then louder, “and the youngest one is José.”

“Can we start now?”

“Y-yes!”

The middle one, Luis, picked up a white and black ball and positioned it in the middle of the garden.

“3!”

Ok, he can do this.

“2!”

He wasn’t nervous, not at all.

“1!”

Ok, maybe a little.

“Go!”

With that Alejandro started sprinting at full speed towards the ball, taking it and running towards the net while at the same time he kept kicking it.

_Shoot, that seems difficult!_

“Kid, take it!” he shouted after being cornered by, uhm, José, (They all looked so similar!) and then kicked the ball in his direction.

_Oh no!_

He should take it, right?

He almost didn’t take it, but he managed to stop it with his feet.

_Now?_

He should run, right?

“You can’t stop while you have the ball, go towards the net!”

“O-ok!” he said, trying to keep the ball from going sideways.

But his run didn’t last that long, because he was immediately stopped by Luis. But then he took the ball from his feet and started running towards their net! Now that he finally had the ball!

“Alex!” said Alejandro, making him turn towards him, “They can do that, but remember you can do it too! Watch me!”

He then started sprinting towards Luis and blocked him, trying to take the ball out of his grip.

Oh! So you can do that!

But right when Luis started to get cornered, Alex noticed by his gaze and the movement of his foot that he was trying to pass it to José. In a crazy adrenalin fuelled moment, Alex sprinted in between them and stopped the ball right when Luis kicked it.

Everybody stood still for a moment, or maybe two.

Did... did he do something bad?

“ALEX, THAT WAS SO GOOD! YOU’RE AMAZING!” he heard from above him.

Who?-

Catra.

It was Catra cheering for him.

_Ahh._

But then, Catra’s words awoke Alejandro from his trance.

“Alex, never stop running, start going towards the net!” he basically screamed, then started running towards him in parallel.

So he exactly did that, beginning running.

That feeling, the feeling of running with the ball away while the other team was chasing him, running as fast as he could towards the net.

That feeling was _incredible._

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but little Alex in that moment felt like he could conquer the world with only the snap of his fingers.

“Alex! Pass it to me!” he heard from his right.

“Ok!”

“With the side of your foot!”

W-what?

“What?”

“Kick it with the side of your foot!”

So, he tried doing that, and it worked!

He didn’t even have to turn towards him to do it!

_God._

_Oh god._

His heart was beating so fast, it threatened to get out of his body.

The other two boys didn’t catch up with the situation fast enough, so Alejandro kicked the ball with inhuman force and scored!

“GOAL!” He screamed with all of his lungs, then started running towards Alex at full speed.

It wasn’t surely an extraordinary goal, but Alejandro picked up Alex and started swinging the little boy in the air as if they just had won the nationals.

“That was amazing! How did a little kid like you do that?!” he then said, while laughing and putting him on the ground.

He... had no idea.

But.

That had been _amazing_.

“THAT WAS AMAZING!” he then screamed at the top of his lungs, “You were all “Ahh!”, the others were “oooh!”, then I came, I picked the ball with a “swoosh!”, then I ran, and you came, then went boom!, and then GOAL!”

He was surely talking again too much, too fast, and gesticulating like crazy, while also jumping enthusiastically, but no one seem to mind. Even the other team was smiling!

“Yeah kid, you were amazing.”

“For once, we think the same.” then he heard from his side. It was Catra, now down on the ground again, with an uncharacteristic dorky smile on her face. “You made _me_ interested, that is a miracle on its own.”

Yeah, the feeling of victory was ecstatic, and the others complimenting him was also a pleasant feeling, but nothing will ever compare to Catra’s compliments.

“So kid, want to do another match?”

_Absolutely._

But.

He was here for Catra, and he left her alone for too much already.

“Maybe another time?” he said, “Catra still hasn’t finished her drawing, and I would love to see it completed.”

“Sure kid, see you next time!”

He then grabbed Catra’s hand and they both started going towards her room.

“You know that I know you wanted to do another match, right?” then Catra said, while they were going up the stairs.

“You could’ve done another one, dummy, you didn’t have to make me happy.”

“But I really meant it, I want to see the butterfly finished!” he answered.

They then got inside Catra’s room, and only when Catra closed the door Alex spoke again.

“Besides, making you happy makes me ten times happier than playing ten-thousand soccer matches.”

Now Catra was as red as a pepper.

“Oh my god, you’re such a sap!”

She then sat on the ground, already taking in her hand the crayons and the drawing.

“Now come here dummy, before I change my mind.”

Alex complied obediently, sitting next to Catra and resting his head on Catra’s shoulder.

_Well, he really meant that, though._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a *very* special moment.
> 
> And you know why?  
> Becauseeee...
> 
> A JOCK WAS BORN!
> 
> Ok, I'm sorry, I'll stop.  
> But my baby discovers soccer, and I'm so proud of him😌.
> 
> Btw, this was so hard to write, especially the scene where Alejandro is explaining the rules. How tf was I going to put all of this dialogue without making it boring? I think I did a good job though. And if my adhd ass doesn't find it boring, I think the majority of the other people probably don't too.
> 
> Also, I'm horrible at action scenes, and I had such an hard time trying to make at least a bit exciting the scene where they're playing.
> 
> Ok, I'm done babbling, hope you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> (Also, remember, I'm not human, I don't need food to survive, I need comments and others opinions on my work *-*)


	7. Chapter 7

The world was really soft and warm.

Little Alex felt like he was surrounded by soft cotton and a warm fireplace.

Like... like a hug!

A soft hug!

He almost never wanted to end it.

“Alex! Wake up!”

What?

He opened his eyes slowly, realizing that he was under the sheets of his bed.

He got out of his sheet cocoon and looked around in his room while stroking his eyes, trying to remember what day it was today.

What day was today?

It was important, somehow...

AH!

“IT’S THE FIRST DAY OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TODAY!” he shouted enthusiastically, getting up of bed so fast the world started spinning, running towards the bathroom to get ready.

He almost tripped on the way there, making his mama giggle, but he managed to brush his teeth and put on his clothes like, super fast!

After putting on his favourite unicorn shirt, (because he wanted to look super cool and make a good impression!), he headed downstairs and went straight to the table, already waiting for his pancakes.

“Hey there squirt, calm down your spirits!” said his mom, giggling from behind him, while heading towards the counters, “It’s still really early, do you want to help me in the kitchen?”

“Yes!” he shouted enthusiastically.

He loved helping his mama cooking!

He wasn’t really good at it though, he always made a mess of some sort, but it was really funny!

So, he quickly got up from his seat and helped his mama prepare chocolate chips pancakes, (and by that he means passing his mama ingredients and licking the spoon).

When they were finally ready, he went to his seat and ate them like a starving man, (which is the norm usually, but today more than ever).

“Hey, calm down sweetie, or you’ll end up choking.” said his mama with a sweet tone, “Besides, we can’t go to school immediately, we have to wait for your friend.”

Well, that stopped him.

“My... friend?” he asked confused, “from school?”

His mama laughed at that, as if it was a really stupid question.

But he really wasn’t understanding what was happening.

“No, silly, Catra!” she told him, “Aren’t you obsessed with her lately? Shouldn’t she have been your immediate thought?”

_Oh._

OH.

CATRA!

“WE GO TO THE SAME SCHOOL?!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, not caring about anything else at the moment.

“Of course, sweetie. You’ve been so much happier with her, lately, this is the least Selena and I could do.” she answered, her smile never leaving her face.

Alex was honestly... so happy.

He couldn’t even describe it!

He just...

He just!

“*sniff*, THANK YOU MAMAA!” he sobbed while running towards her to hug her.

“Now now, why don’t you go watch some cartoons while we wait for her?”

“Yes!” even though he was excited, both for school and Catra, he could never say no to cartoons!

He was almost sad when his mama called him.

Not for long though, because, FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

“Hey hey, where are you going, squirt?” said his mama, stopping him from his run towards the clothes hangers.

“To... put on my jacket?” he hesitantly said. It was also a He-man jacket, mind you, (In reality, it was just a normal jacket, but it had He-man's colour scheme, and he liked to play pretend, okay?).

“I know, sweetie, but I have to give you something that every elementary schooler wears.”

To that, his eyes started sparkling.

He... would get to look like a grown up?!

“It was really hard to find it with this decoration, all of them basically have only cars, but here it is.”

Then, his mama unfolded in front of his eyes a piece of clothing that was deep blue, with tiny buttons, a white collar and on the left upper corner a...

“UNICORN!”

His mama could only giggle seeing is kid looking so excited over a rainbowy magical horse, snatching from her hands the school apron.

“IT’S PERFECT!” now he was the one giggling, while spinning in circles the apron and hopping around.

“Be careful, you don’t want to ruin it, don’t you?” she said, still smiling widely, “Now, let me help you put it on.”

After finishing getting ready, (and after Mara finally convinced Alex to stop looking at himself in the mirror), they headed to the car, waiting for Catra and Selena to come.

When Alex finally saw Catra, his heart couldn’t help but skip a few beats.

She was wearing her school apron too, but hers was white and it had a ballerina on the upper left corner, instead of a unicorn.

And her hair...

It was tied up!

It looked so stunning!

To be fair, he already saw her with a messy ponytail a couple of times, but now she had a beautiful long braid!

Alex was pretty sure her mom forced her though, because Catra already told him she didn’t like tying her hair because it was curly and unruly and it hurt quite a bit when she tried to.

And also because she had a big pout right now.

When both her and her mom got into the car, his mama, trying to be nice, asked: “That braid is so cute Catra! Did you do it yourself?”

_Oh no._

“NO!” Catra shouted, “I HATE IT! MY MAMÀ FORCED ME!”

Ah!

He knew it!

He isn’t a dummy like Catra said, he’s really smart!

“Stop whining, Catarina, we already ended this discussion.”

Selena had a really scary face...

“NO, YOU DID IT! I TOLD YOU I DIDN’T WANT IT!”

“Catarina María Espinoza, I swear to god, if you keep raising your voice like that, you’re going to taste sandals for weeks-”

“Anyway!” said his mama abruptly, trying to change the subject and hoping to save Catra’s life, (Selena was **really** scary when she wanted to), “How has this week been in the new neighbourhood, you haven’t told me!”

“God, Mara, you have no idea! So, basically...” Alex wasn’t really paying attention from that point on, but instead was focusing on his friend and... are those tears in her eyes?

No! Today was a special day! He had to make Catra happy!

But how?

Without thinking, he held Catra’s hand in his own.

“What are you doing?” she said, looking at him as if he had three heads.

“You’re sad, right? Because of the fight with your mom,” he started, “I just thought this would make you feel better.”

He was really nervous now, especially because of the weird look Catra was giving him.

Did he mess up?

Did Catra hate him now?

“Even though you’re such a dummy, you can be smart sometimes.” she said and then squeezed his hand.

And smiled.

_Smiled._

That smile makes him feel things he doesn’t understand yet.

So, like every smart person would do, (and he’s 100% smart!), he decided to ignore those feelings.

“Catra,” he said, trying to change the subject, “I love my unicorn, but that ballerina looks so cute!”, then pointed at the sewed ballerina on her apron.

Wrong choice.

“OMG, I HATE IT!” she shouted, raising her hands in the air, “I have no idea what ballet even is! And those too-too or whatever they’re called look totally stupid.”

Now she was doing a little pout, and Alex didn’t totally think it was cute! He was sad and super upset for her friend! Y-yes!

“I think it looks pretty...” he tried saying, trying to calm Catra.

It didn’t work.

“Are you imitating my mamá? Because, if you are, it’s not funny. She said the same thing!”

Did- did he offend Catra?

OH GOD, HE OFFENDED CATRA-

“Stop making that funny face, I know that you’re such a dummy you can’t even say mean things, but still!” she was still gesturing animatedly with her hands, trying to spend up her energy maybe, “Maybe you and my mamá like it, but I don’t! Why can’t she understand that!”

Well, he liked Catra’s mum really much, but he couldn’t help but admit that Catra was totally right. Sometimes she was really stubborn about some things, not letting you even talk.

“Catarina, I swear, are you still talking about that fuc-” “SELENA.” “-freaking ballerina?!” they suddenly heard from the front seat.

“I. DON’T. LIKE. IT!” Catra said loudly in a bratty way.

Mara knew this was going very badly very quickly, so she decided to intervene.

“Hey squirt, did you show Selena your decoration?”

“OH!”, he answered, “I didn’t!”

Now Selena was smiling again.

“That’s right! You didn’t!” she said, “Let me see, what is it?”

He got closer to her and showed her Swifty, (it looks like his imaginary steed, okay?), then said “Look!”, his voice filled with excitement.

“Is that... a unicorn?” she questioned, looking... confused?

“A rainbow unicorn!” he corrected her.

Unicorns and rainbow unicorns are so much different!

Rainbow unicorns are way cooler!

“A rainbow... unicorn.”

“Yeah! I named him Swifty! He has big and shiny wings and likes to do loop de loops when...” but then he stopped talking. Because Selena was giving him this strange look that he knew too well, the same one the adults gave him often.

He had no idea what it meant, but it always made him feel horrible.

Why did they always look at him like that?

Was it him?

Was he bad?

Then, he felt something squeeze his hand.

“So? Don’t just stop mid-sentence, now I’m curious.” he heard Catra say, looking at him with curious eyes.

He turned to look at her, feeling something warm in his chest.

He started talking again.

For a lot actually.

He was so occupied explaining every little detail about Swift Wind that he didn’t even notice they had arrived.

But when he looked out of the window, he couldn’t help but open his mouth at the sight of his new school.

IT WAS _ENOURMOS!_

It was the school for grown ups!

His old school was never that big. It barely had three classrooms, but at least it had a fairly big playground!

But this school was _big,_ and there were tons of different children and parents, all waiting for the opening hour. It was also filled with tons of cars, all trying to find a park spot.

Alex couldn’t help but be in awe.

“Come on, dummy, it’s not that big of a deal, it’s just school.” she said to him, but he could clearly see the sparkles in her eyes.

“Kids, get out of the car!” said his mama right after opening the car door for them.

When both kids got out of the car, Catra looked pretty confident, but Alex just couldn’t get himself to move.

It was... too loud.

Everything was too loud.

He didn’t know why, but loud places made him feel really uncomfortable.

Especially crowds.

And there were a lot of kids laughing, and screaming, and parents yelling, and birds chirping, it was...

Too much.

Too too much.

But he woke up from his trance thanks to Catra taking his hand and giving him a big smile, so he quickly got happier and started walking with his mama, Catra and Selena towards the school entrance, which opened at that exact moment.

_Stop being strange, Alex._

But turns out elementary school is even cooler than he thought!

There were big and long corridors, lots of different classes and the most colourful posters were hanged everywhere.

It was so cool!

He was so excited!

Their moms, after talking to a very intimidating man, gave them both their backpacks and told them to follow a kind-looking woman that had already gathered a bunch of other kids.

She had long black hair pulled into a weird hairdo, black (beautiful!) lipstick and what looked like and hand-made knitted jumper.

They followed her till they arrived into an empty classroom.

It was weird though, because all the desks were putted at the end, leaving the big room pretty empty.

“Okay kids, now listen to me. Form a big circle at the centre of the classroom and then sit down, because we’re all going to introduce ourselves!” said the woman with an excited smile on her face.

So, they did exactly that, all sited together in a circle. Alex and Catra were sited next to each other, of course.

“So, hi to everyone, my name is Castaspella Maghanoy, but you can call me Casta, and I’m your new teacher!”

They went from there.

It had been an exciting day!

First, everybody introduced themselves, then they played 20 question and played some games afterwards!

He couldn’t help but be a little disappointed, his mama said that he would get to study like big kids in elementary school!

It didn’t matter though, because he had so much fun with Catra!

She would constantly say (mean) jokes while someone was talking, and he couldn’t help but laugh every single time. Teacher Casta even reprimanded them a couple of times.

Still, he couldn’t stop giggling!

When school finished, they all went to Catra’s house to eat all together. Catra’s mom served these special meatballs that were delicious! They had a strange name though.

It was like, ehm, a...abodeelas? Anboddyggas?

He wasn’t sure, Catra tried teaching him one-hundred times, but he just couldn’t do it!

She called him a dummy after giving up.

But it was a great night!

Alejandro even called him a smart kid and asked him when would be the next time they play soccer together!

When they had to go, he hugged Catra really tight and waved goodbye while he and his mama crossed the street to go home.

_What a wonderful day that had been._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First day of school!! This is super important! My babies are becoming big kids *^*
> 
> For who's wondering, their school uniforms are typical italian ones. Yes, I know that they're technically in the USA, but they looked so cuteee🥺
> 
> (And Alex fangirling over a rainbow unicorn is my jam)
> 
> Anyway, the angst is always present, oopsie-
> 
> The things that Alex can't pronounce are albondingas, basically Mexican meatballs!
> 
> Ok, im done info dumping, hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	8. Strawberry flower

The second day of school was far more exciting!

Little Alex really felt like a grown up!

This time they didn’t sit in circle and played games, but they seated in big desks and had their own textbooks!

Everybody else was very nervous, because they had to choose with who they wanted to be seated with, but it wasn’t a problem for him!

He had Catra!

He could even hold her hand whenever he wanted under the desk!

Anyway, that day they were learning the letters of the alphabet and writing them down on their exercise books with bright pencils, while Mrs Casta was writing them on the chalk board and saying a fun fact about each letter, so they could remember it better, or so she said.

It’s not like he didn’t know the alphabet though, but his teacher said that they were doing it in a very good way so that they would never forget it, and Alex believed everything she said, because teachers are really smart!

They just had just gotten to the letter W when the recess bell rang.

Mrs. Casta stopped them and told them to socialize with their other classmates while eating the snacks they brought from home.

His mama, (his favourite person EVER!), gave him strawberries.

STRAWBERRIES!

HE LOVED STRAWBERRIES!

So, understandably, he was really happy when he saw them in his He-man lunch box. (So cool, right!).

He was expecting something similar from Catra, but instead just saw her get out from her pocket a tiny cylindrical container with a blue cap and inside... some sugar?

_Maybe it was sugar to put on some kind of fruit?_

He was so convinced of that idea that he was shocked when he saw Catra open the cap, lick her finger, put it in the strange sugar and then lick it again.

That’s dirty!

“Catra, what is that?” he said, worried for his friend, but at the same time very curious.

To that, Catra turned towards him, still with the finger in her mouth, with a confused look.

She then looked down, back at him again, and exclaimed a loud: “OH!”

“Lucas Mango!” she then answered enthusiastically, shoving the tiny container in his face.

He was still confused.

“... what?” he asked, again.

“Okay, so, basically,” then she started talking really fast, “My papi comes back and forth from Mexico, right? So, sometimes, he brings me some snacks, and these ones are the best! I had to beg my mamá to bring this instead of a banana, yuck!” she concluded with a funny face.

“Oh” he said, still trying to process everything Catra said, “That’s... that’s awesome!”

She nodded enthusiastically to that.

“So your dad just brings bags filled with snacks sometimes?” he asked, just to be sure.

“Yes!”

“That’s awesome!” he said.

Bags full of candies sounded awesome!

“I know! Want to try?” she then offered him the candy.

Wait, is it candy?

“Is it sweet?” he asked.

“Yup, super sweet, just like sugar.” she answered.

Well, here goes nothing.

He licked his finger, just like he saw Catra do, sticked it into the sugary powder and tasted it.

It was...

SOUR!

SO SOUR!

“CATRA!” he screamed, jumping out of his seat.

He expected Catra spurting out apologies, maybe her just saying: “What’s wrong?”, but instead, she was just laughing hysterically in her seat, holding even her stomach.

“BWAHAHAHA!” she was saying, “You should’ve seen your face! It was all scrunched!”

_Her laugh is so squeaky and cute-_

NO ALEX!

Catra is not cute right now, SHE’S MEAN!

“Catra!” he said angrily, “Don’t laugh, you’re mean!”

“I’m not!” she said, still laughing, then got up and squished his cheeks together, “You just can’t take a joke.”

She... was right.

BUT!

He won’t ever admit it!

But right when he was opening his mouth to talk back, he heard a voice from his right.

“Hey!” said a boy with ruffly brown hair and a confident smirk, “Is that a He-man lunch box? I love that show!”

Alex looked at him for a moment or two, processing what he said.

He likes He-man.

HE LIKES HE-MAN?!

“YOU LIKE IT TOO?” he said, maybe too enthusiastically.

“Here he goes...” mumbled Catra, now sitting again in her chair.

“What’s your favourite character?! Mine’s He-man!”

“He-man? No, that’s super boring! Skeletor is better!”

“No, you’re wrong! He-man's fantastic because...”, then, he started describing all of the most badass scenes where he was the best.

He knew them all by heart!

It didn’t last long though.

“Eww, stop talking so much, you’re annoying!” said the kid, interrupting him.

Well, that stopped him.

W-what?

Was he doing it again?

Oh no.

He’s being annoying again.

Now everyone is going to hate him again.

N-now everyone-

“At first it looked like you didn’t have a brain, but now you gave me the confirmation.”

His train of thoughts was interrupted by Catra’s words, that now got up from her chair and was glaring down at the kid with a really scary look.

“W-what are you saying?!” he told her, clearly defensive.

“If you can’t even pay attention to someone talking for more than fifteen seconds, then you have serious problems.” replied nonchalantly Catra.

“T-that’s not true!” now the kid was almost crying, “You’re mean!”.

He then he started running away from them, covering his eyes.

“Bu-uh!” said Catra in a mocking voice, while sticking out her tongue.

Alex couldn’t help but stare at the whole scene astonished.

He slowly turned towards Catra, who know was sited again in her chair.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you do that?” he couldn’t help but ask-

_Why?_

“What do you mean: “Why did you do that?”?! He was being a dick!”

“CATRA! BAD, BAD WORD!”

“Relax, my brothers say it all the time.”

“IT DOESN’T MAKE IT OKAY!”

“Fine, fine!” she said, clearly ignoring his words.

“Anyway, he wasn’t being a- a meany, he was just being honest...” Alex said, looking away.

Right...

“You’re a dummy!” shouted Catra, forcing him to look at her, “You’re, like, the kindest and funniest person in this room, he was being moany just because he’s a-… b-bad person.”

Oh, so she was listening to him.

But, his attention wasn’t at all focused on Catra avoiding the bad word.

_You’re the kindest and funniest person in this room._

Catra thought he was the kindest and funniest person in this room.

_Ahh._

“Y-you really think I’m the kindest and funniest?” he asked timidly, maybe his cheeks a little redder than usual.

But it was like he just slapped Catra in the face, because Catra turned her head super-fast towards him with super wide eyes and red cheeks.

She looked away immediately.

“I-I mean, that’s objective! Only stupid people would think otherwise...” she barely muttered, pretty defensive.

Alex could only look at her with a big, sweet smile on his face.

Maybe that guy was really mean, but Alex didn’t even think about it while Ms. Casta was explaining what vowels are, he didn’t even think about it when he got home.

Because the only thing that was occupying his mind were Catra’s words.

_You’re the kindest and funniest person in this room._

_Ahh._

Even when he went to bed and his mama gave him a kiss on the forehead, he was still thinking about it.

He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, my angst slipped-
> 
> Honestly, that should be my motto; I don't want to spoil anything, but the next chapter was supposed to be wholesome, and instead... Honestly, I'm disappointed at myself.
> 
> Btw, Catra pranking Alex is my entire reason to live.
> 
> Also! Super important! I forgot to mention it last chapter, but Casta's surname is filippino, as Micah's and Glimmer's. And I actually have a little fun fact! I chose the name Maghanoy because "maga" in italian means sorceress, so I thought it was very fitting.


	9. The Origin of a Bee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of racial discrimination

It was two and a half p.m., right after school, and little Alex was just entering his house hand in hand with Catra.

See, school had become the perfect excuse for him and Catra to spend a lot of time together, and Alex wasn’t complaining at all.

So, when his mama came to pick up both of them and told them Catra was going to eat at their house, he couldn’t help but scream in joy!

Now they just entered the house, and while his mama went immediately towards the counters, he and Catra took their time to undress and went upstairs to wash their hands. Alex thought it would be quick.

But Catra is a meany.

And so, she started splashing his face with the water that was dripping from her hands.

He was outraged at first, but obviously! She wetted him!

“Catra!” he said, clearly very angry!

She didn’t say anything though, she just kept laughing with her typical squeaky laugh.

_Cute._

No Alex!

To make her pay, Alex did it too, just to make her less smug!

Needless to say, that started a very bloody fight, that can be compared to the worse wars! (Even though they were giggling the entire time.)

They only stopped when Mara called them for dinner, but of course, Catra had to make it a race.

…

She won.

Anyway, he couldn’t help but smile so wide when he saw what was for dinner.

Cotoletta!

It’s something his nonna always did, like an Italian recipe, and even though it was super simple, (it was after all chicken breast breaded and fried in olive oil), it was one of his favourite dishes!

It also reminded him a lot of his nonna.

By the way, he hasn’t seen her lately.

_Where is she?_

Oh!

Sugar snaps, there are even the fried potatoes shaped like smiley faces!

This is the best lunch ever!

“Thank you, Mara, for all the food!” said Catra, with sparkles in her eyes.

“Don’t even think about it sweetheart, it’s nothing!” said his mama, “Now now, eat!”

They then started eating and talking with her mama about school stuff.

Which by the way, was awesome!

They started doing difficult exercises, just like grown ups!

When they both finished eating, they asked Mara if they could go play, and when she said yes to them, they both started running furiously towards Alex’s room.

It didn’t take them long to find Alex’s action figures and starting playing with them.

What didn’t take little Alex long too, was asking Catra a question that was in his mind for a while.

“So, Catra,” started Alex, “Your dad brings you tons of snacks and sweets from Mexico, right?”

“Yup.” said Catra while she was brushing Starfire’s long hair, making the p pop.

“So, are you, like, Mexican?” he asked, curious.

“I mean, technically yes.” she answered.

“Why _technically_?”

“Because I was born there, but my family moved here when I was, like, one,” she started, now braiding Starfire’s hair, “So I don’t remember anything. If I don’t really remember anything, am I really Mexican?”

“Dunno,” said Alex, “Do you feel like one?”

Catra seemed to think about it for a while.

But then, she looked up and said confidently: “Yeah!”, then she stopped for a second and added: “I mean, I’m different from you.”

“But aren’t we all different?”

“Eh, fair enough.”

They then started playing in silence for a while. That couldn’t last for long though.

We’re talking about Alex, after all.

“And how did you come here? Do you miss your old house?”

“Meh, not really.” she answered, now making two soldier figures fight, “It was a temporary house after all. See, my papi worked in a factory that did, like, chairs, but it was destroyed in an earthquake, so they, like, decided to move the factory here.”

“So, then you all moved?”

“Yup. But my papi bought an ugly house in an ugly neighbourhood just to save money and then buy a pretty one after.” she told him, “So I don’t really miss it.”

“Ohh, now I understand!” he said, smile on his face.

Now he knew more about Catra!

“Also, theotherkidswerereallymean.” she then barely muttered.

Huh?

“What?” he asked her.

He didn’t understand anything!

“The other kids... they were, like, mean.” she answered him, still in a low voice, now looking shyly down.

“Why?!” he said, now really angry.

Who?! He’s going to hurt them all a lot! (even though he doesn’t like violence!)

“It’s nothing, really...” she said.

But he could clearly see tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Catra...” he said, with a reassuring voice, while coming closer to her and holding her hand, “It isn’t nothing, you’re crying...”

“But...”

“No buts!” he interrupted her, “We’re best friend, right? You don’t have be tough or hide anything from me.”

She then looked at him with glassy eyes.

She started talking.

“They... they called me dirty.”

“But you’re not! You smell like pretty flowers!” he said without thinking.

Shoot! He shouldn’t have said that!

But anyway, why would they call Catra dirty, she doesn’t look dirty at all!

“I know! I wash myself every day!” she told him, “but I have, like, dark skin and bushy hair, and, I dunno, they thought that.”

“Well, they’re dumb.” he said to Catra, “They don’t even know what dirty means!”.

To that, he threw his hands in the air, just to emphasize.

It worked, because Catra started giggling.

“You’re right, they’re dumb.”

“Also...” now he was sure he was blushing a little, because his cheeks felt warm, “Your hair is really pretty.”

“You- you really think so?” Catra asked him, now looking at him with hopeful eyes.

_Ba-thumpt, ba-thumpt._

“Y-yeah! Obviously!” said in the end Alex, with newfound confidence.

“THANK YOU!” almost screamed Catra before tackling him to the ground and hugging him.

_Ahh._

Ahhhh!

Catra is hugging him!

Heart, stop beating so fast!

Oh god.

_Oh god._

Is he having a panic attack?

But Catra wasn’t moving anymore, she just kept hugging him thigh.

_Catra’s really warm._

Well, he surely doesn’t mind staying like this for a while.

_He surely doesn’t mind staying like this forever, either._

But, forever didn’t last long, because right then his mama opened the door with a bottle of orange juice and two glasses in her hands.

“Well, am I interrupting something?” said his mama, trying to remain serious, but Alex could clearly hear her giggle a little.

Now he felt embarrassed, even though he didn’t know why he should be.

He stopped hugging Catra.

“N-no! Not at all!” said immediately Alex, clearly defensive.

“Okay,” she then said his mama, “who wants orange juice?”

Well, they couldn’t say no to orange juice.

It was only when his mama went away and they were halfway through their juice that Catra started speaking again.

“Alex,” she said, with a strange look on her face, “We’re besties, so I can tell you everything, right?”

If he had to be completely honest, now Alex was a little scared.

“Obviously.” he replied anyway, without a single doubt.

“I overheard my mom on the phone the other day, the one before first day of school,” she started explaining, “And even though I couldn’t hear the whole conversation, even if I tried really hard, I got the jits of it.”

Well, now little Alex was really curious.

“So? What did you hear?” he tried asking in a neutral tone.

“My abuelo is dying.”

…

WHAT?!

“What?! W-who?” he said.

He- he didn’t even know what to say.

Death sounded normal when it happened to bad guys in cartoons, but applying it in real life is really scary...

“My- my grandpa, he’s dying.” she repeated, “My mamà was talking with tia Aletia on the phone about it. He’s in an hospital here, and if he doesn’t die immediately, he won’t last more than a year and a half.”

Now, Catra was starting to sob, and Alex did the only thing he could think of.

He hugged her.

That didn’t stop the crying, but it actually made it worse.

But it didn’t feel bad though, it was almost like Catra was freeing herself from this, in a way.

She stopped crying after a while.

“My abuelo always tells me stories of when he was young, or even some famous myths. I always love listening to him.” Catra started saying, still hugging him, “Will- will it really end? Just like this?”

He... he didn’t know what to say.

He tried anyway.

“I dunno, but shouldn’t we stop being sad because it’s ending and start being happy because it happened? Or so, my mama always says.”

To that, Catra got out of their embrace.

“Hey, that’s actually a good say.” she said, “So you aren’t a complete dummy after all.”

“I told you!”

Then Catra gave him a tiny smile.

“So, what about your grandparents?” asked him Catra, obviously trying to change the subject.

“Well, I don’t have a dad, so no four grandparents, and my mama’s father died when she was tiny, so I never met him, but I have a nonna!” he then concluded, while smiling a lot.

He loved his nonna Razz!

“Nonna? Is she Argentinian? I had an Argentinian friend!” asked Catra, now smiling more than before.

“No, no, she’s Italian! From the south, and there is some kind of difference between south and north, probably...” he didn’t really remember well.

His nonna always talked so much!

“She’s an amazing cook, and she always tells the best stories!” he kept saying, “But sometimes, she’s mean to me!”

“Mean? Why?” asked Catra.

“Well, last time she told me that I was saying both her name and my mama’s wrong, because I couldn’t do the “r” right!” he said, exasperated just thinking about it.

“And she started making fun of me with my mom because I couldn’t do that strange sound!”

“You mean, the rolling “r”?”

“Yeah!”

To that, Catra started laughing.

“Obviously, you’re too much of a dummy for this.”

“I’m not! It’s really difficult!”

“But I can do it.”

“You’re different!”

“Dummy.”

“ANYWAY, did you know that my mother’s name is actually Marta?” he said to change the topic.

“Really?!”

“Yup, but someone named Hope or something said it wrongly and they kept it, or something. I don’t really remember well, they were talking too fast.”

“...”

“Catra?”

“You know that you’re not saying my name right too, dummy?”

“STOP IT!”

They kept talking for a long time about everything that came to their mind. It was for almost the entire day.

_But they both wanted it to never stop._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BACKSTORY TIME!
> 
> Soo... this was supposed to be a simple backstory chapter, then... my angst slipped. (Honestly, that's becoming my motto). My sweet little baby Catra, I want to hug her
> 
> And! Super important! In the chapter where little Alex and Catra are having their first day of school, I made Selena a bit snappy to play a little with the stereotype that latina moms are more strict with their children, especially when you make a scene in front of other people (seriously, if you do, you can consider yourself dead). But then, I read a comment on that chapter made by pesterfield that said something like: "I wonder what got Selena so on edge", and then BOOM, character depth.
> 
> Why did I say all of this?  
> Because, if you have some ideas that you think are good, write them down in the comments! I've already planned all the plot of this fic, but if I find something interesting I'll definitely include it and then mention the person!
> 
> Ok, I'm done, hope you liked the chapter!
> 
> (Also, writing kids coping with death was really difficult, hope I made it sound real enough!)


	10. The celebration of a Bee

Little Alex was very nervous.

Why, you ask?

Don’t you know what day is today!

It’s October 28th!

And he’s super anxious!

He obviously prepared every little detail for today, he isn’t a complete dummy! But he couldn’t help but feel a horrible sense of dread starting in his lower tummy.

_What if something went wrong?_

_What if he was being too clingy?_

No, Alex, stop thinking about it!

If you start to think about bad things, they’re going to happen!

He quickly looked himself in the mirror and softly slapped his cheeks, making them a little red.

He then went to his desk and grabbed a roughly packed box with a bright red ribbon glued on it and some drawings scribbled on top of it, put it in his backpack, along with some _special_ candy, and started running down the stairs.

Wait, what day is today, you ask?

It’s Catra’s birthday of course!

Catra told him one day right after he finished playing a match with Alejandro, Luis and José, and they were heading towards her room to grab her new bubble maker and play with it.

“Catra!” said Alex, excited, (soap bubbles are amazing!), “That’s so cool! You have, like, twelve of them! How?”

“See, my papi had to do something very important, so he had to go to Mexico, and because he felt bad for not being here the day of my birthday, he decided to gift me both an entire day of cuddles and a whole package of them!”. When she finished talking, Catra turned towards him with sparkly eyes and a big smile.

…

BIRTHDAY!?

“CATRA!” he suddenly screamed, making Catra jump a little, “YOU DIDN’T TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BIRTHDAY!”

He was a little angry, he had to admit it.

She didn’t tell him about her birthday!

And they’re _besties_!

“Whoopsie.” she only said.

“Don’t say that, I’m mad!” he told her, “A birthday is a super important thing and you didn’t tell me!”

“I just forgot, okay?!” she said defensive, now raising her voice too, “Besides, you didn’t tell me yours either!”

That stopped him, making him look at Catra with a blank face.

“Ah.” he said.

Catra then raised her finger and poked him on the forehead.

“Dummy.”

She then told him that her birthday was on October 28th, (and he told her that his was on January 19th!), and that the only real birthday she celebrated was with that Argentinian friend she told him about a while ago, Malen.

“But she moved away before we could celebrate my fifth birthday, so that’s a bummer.” Catra finished the story.

“And you didn’t find any other friends?” he asked, still sad knowing Catra didn’t have good birthdays.

“Nope, I didn’t like the other kids at all.” she told him, scrunching her nose a little.

But Alex knew it was more than that, she told him so a month and a little more ago.

He decided to not press it though.

BUT.

CATRA DIDN’T HAVE ANY AWESOME BIRTHDAYS!!!

THAT’S OUTRAGEOUS!

And he’s going to change that!

That’s why he spent the three days from Catra’s confession to her birthday planning the perfect party!

And, okay, maybe he was obsessing a little about it, writing everything even on a rainbow agenda, but Catra totally deserves it!

Now it was only a matter of everything going as planned.

Which is _terrifying._

But! He promised himself that he’s not going to think about it. Or trying not to think about it.

When he went down the stairs and to the living room, he could see his mama putting the last decorations, which were colourful banners and caps with written all over them something along the lines of: “Happy birthday!”

He hoped Catra would like them, but what was really worrying him weren’t the decorations, but a brightfully packed box in his backpack that now seemed to weight a ton.

He tried to make the packaging as special as possible. First of all, he made it himself!

It had been a little hard wrapping the paper around the box with tape and making it look pretty, but he did it, and all by himself!

Then, he grabbed some coloured pencils and started scribbling little drawings of him and Catra holding hands, along with some rainbows and hearts.

After that, he sticked with his own school glue a bright red ribbon on the top.

And it looked so cool!

But what he wasn’t sure about was what was inside the box.

Maybe he should’ve picked something else instead of-

“Alex! Are you ready sweetie?” he heard his mama call him.

“Y-yeah!” he said.

Now the jitters were really taking control of him.

They both turned off all the lights, (and closed all the windows, so that everything was pitch black), and went straight to the door.

“So now we gotta stay like this for a while? Cool. Now I can’t see your ugly faces.” said Alejandro from somewhere in the room.

“You’re mean.” he heard Luis say.

“Cry about it.”

Oh yeah.

Catra’s brothers are here too.

They wanted to be cool about it, but they love to dead their little sister, so they basically begged to be at the “party” too.

Alex and her mama crossed the street and knocked on Catra’s house’s door, and a smiley Selena opened the door.

Catra had no real idea what was going on. Selena told her that it was just a normal day and that she would go to Alex’s house to play and spend her birthday together.

No big deal whatsoever.

When Catra was out of her house, they all got back to his own.

Catra didn’t look really happy though.

And she’s right from her point of view. Alex didn’t say happy birthday to her!

But obviously she didn’t know that Alex was just waiting for the right moment!

And that right moment came exactly when they opened the door.

“Eh?” said Catra confused.

“Why is everything so dark?”

“SURPRISE!”

Right at that moment, all the lights turned on, and two of the three boys were screaming that and popping confetti in front of a bright table and a banner with “Happy Birthday!” written on it, while Alejandro was filming the whole thing on his phone.

Alex turned to Catra and said: “Happy Birthday!”, while smiling brightly.

Catra looked at him for a second, with a strangely blank stare.

Oh no.

He did wrong, didn’t he?

Now Catra’s going to hate him.

Now Catra’s-

“YOU’RE A DUMMY!” she suddenly screamed, then launched herself towards him and hugged him really tight.

Was... was she crying?

“You’re all dummies...”

Alex couldn’t do much other than rub his little hand up and down Catra’s back.

But a thought was gnawing at his mind.

“... d-do you hate it?” said Alex with a whisper.

“No...” told him Catra, still not moving from their embrace, “It’s perfect.”

The rest of the day went perfectly.

They played at every game possible while their mamas talked, laughing like crazies, and even watched a movie at some point!

Then his mama brought to them the cake, (which was perfect, because his mama did it), covered in confetti and pretty decorations.

And also the cupcake _he_ made exclusively for Catra!

It was... not the best, he had to admit.

The cupcake didn’t have a smooth surface, but was leaning to a side, so the frosting on top wasn’t the straightest either, nor a perfect swirl, but Catra smiled, so everything’s okay!

And even though everything was going great, Alex couldn’t help but feel still super anxious.

He didn’t give her the present yet.

But Alex wanted to be a cool superhero, so he had to be brave!

So, he took Catra’s hand and guided her to the backyard, where there was nobody.

“What are you doing, dummy?” asked Catra, while giggling a little.

The sun was almost completely out, so he had to be quick.

“This is a birthday, right?” tried starting Alex, nervous.

“Obviously, dummy.” answered Catra.

“And what’s one of the most important things in a birthday?”

“Uhm, I dunno, cake?” she told him, tilting her head a bit in confusion.

At that point Alex took out from his back the box he was obsessing about for the entire day.

Catra first looked at the box, then at him.

“Present!” she shouted, almost scared, “You really are a dummy! You shouldn’t have!”

She then took the box in her hands and started looking at it intensely, turning it around in her hands.

“Is... is that us?” asked Catra, now focusing on the drawing Alex made.

“Yes! I’m not as good as you, but-”

“It’s perfect!” she interrupted him, now smiling super wide, “You even drew my freckles!”

At that Alex blushed a little.

He just liked them a lot, okay?!

“What is it?” asked Catra.

“Just open it.”

And she was, indeed, about to open it, but right at that moment the others came.

“Alex, what are you doing?!” said his mama, “We want to see Catra’s reaction too!”

“Yes Alex, why didn’t you call us?”

“Thank God we got there before she opened it.”

Alex... wanted it to be only him and Catra.

He didn’t really know why, he just... did.

_I guess it’s too late now._

Catra finally shred in a million pieces the paper that was wrapping the present, (but put particular attention in not damaging the drawing), clearly excited about the surprise.

And she was so surprised that when she saw what it was, she stopped completely.

“So, do you like it?” said Alex, trying so hard not to make his voice tremble.

Now Catra was holding a shiny coloured pencils box, the very one Alex had made her mama go through hell to find.

“It’s the special brand you told me about some time ago. And it’s not the normal set, it’s the one with twenty-six different colours, it even has gold and silver!”

Now little Alex was talking without thinking, growing more and more worried by Catra’s silence.

But right when Alex was starting to feel his eyes dampen, Catra raised her head and looked at him with a surprised look.

“ALEX!” she suddenly screamed, throwing herself towards Alex in a tight hug for the second time that day.

“It’s really... perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I know that I'm supposed to mind a specific time for when I post, because the majority of people who read this are from the Americas and there it's probably 4 in the morning, but I have a big exam in thirty minutes and I need those positive vibes the comments give me. Forgive me.
> 
> Now, talking about the actual chapter, it just explores further Alex and Catra's relationship and oH GOD THEY'RE SO CUTE AND WHOLESOME.
> 
> Anyways, I always love a little anxious Alex, and he's trying his best, so please be gentle.
> 
> It's all for today folks, goodbye from Roz *-*.
> 
> (P.s. the chapter will have art in a few days, it's just that this has been a crazy week, so, I don't know, come back to see it in a while?)


	11. Sunlight finally breaks through

Catra used a lot Alex’s present from that day on.

In fact, she even used it to make him his present for his own birthday.

And it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

She drew him with all the shades and stuff!

But not only that, because paired with the drawing there was a plushie.

And not a regular plushie.

AN UNICORN PLUSHIE!

And it has this strange material on the horn that is rainbowy and changes colours when you move it!

He nearly cried!

Okay, maybe he really did cry, but they were happy tears, so it’s all good!

Besides that, now Catra’s room was filled with all of her drawings sticked on the walls, and now it was very colourful.

And Alex was very happy!

That meant Catra liked his present a lot!

But this is old news.

Now it’s March, probably five months later, and Alex is currently in Catra’s kitchen preparing some special kind of tea cookies with her and her mom.

And it was being a lot of fun!

Selena made them pick up the ingredients all by themselves, then while she was preparing the dough, she let them put their hands into the bowl!

Obviously, they had washed their hands before doing that, and feeling the sticky dough was one of the best feelings he had ever experienced.

And he experienced a lot of those!

Anyway, now they were rolling the dough on a pan and cutting different shapes on it with various cookie cutters. Selena told them they were supposed to be all circular, but she let them use other cookie cutters shaped like hearts and stars because it was more fun!

While they were doing all of this, the TV was playing softly in the background, currently set on the cartoon channel.

“ _And along with the shoes, there’s a shiny lip-gloss ready to be used. Go get them at your closest store, they’re waiting for you!_ ”

Various toys ads could be heard, but the two kids weren’t really paying attention to them, too focused on cutting the perfect shape on the dough.

Then Alex heard something that picked up his interest.

“ _Hey, you! Yes, you! Are you a fan of the manliest super hero He-man?_ ”

To that, Alex immediately raised his head towards the television with extremely intense eyes, completely forgetting the cookies.

He could hear Catra giggle beside him. She always told him he was a little too obsessed.

And he wasn’t!

He was just... super intense about it!

He only tended to super focus on something from time to time, that’s all.

“ _Then you’re surely going to love his new long-lost twin sister, She-ra!_ ”

“SHE-RA?!” suddenly shouted Alex, now getting off the stool he was on and running towards the TV.

“Alex!” he heard Selena distantly, “Your hands are dirty, where are you going?”

But now, all little Alex could focus on is the TV in front of him.

And especially what was playing on said TV.

“ _Every Wednesday at 5 p.m., come watch She-ra: Princess of Power on channel 47!_ ”

With that, the channel showed what She-ra looked like.

And _wow_.

A beautiful muscular woman with gorgeous makeup and flowy blond hair stood in front of the screen, holding a big sword while being surrounded by a shower of rainbow glitter.

“...”

It was everything he ever wanted.

“AAAH!” he suddenly screamed, “CATRA! LOOK! IT’S FANTASTIC!”

Now he was hopping all around the living room, while shaking his hands uncontrollably from the excitement.

Catra, a responsible kid, first washed her hands, then walked towards her bestie.

“How can you be so excited? It’s just He-man’s crappy female version.” she told him.

“That’s mean Catra, and not true!” he said while getting super offended.

“You just like it ’cause she’s everything you want to be.”

“... well, that’s true.”

Selena, seeing the two kids so engaged (well, mostly Alex), putted all of the cookies in the oven and went to the living room too.

“What is this new Sheera? A new super hero?” Selena asked them, curious about their excitement.

“Yes!” answered Alex enthusiastically, “She’s He-man's twin sister!”

“Oh!” said Selena, “So, she’s like He-man?”

“No! She’s even better!”, Alex now couldn’t contain a huge grin.

Alex’s happiness was now infecting Selena too, making her smile widely.

“Can I ask why?”

“She’s basically everything Alex wants to be.” said Catra, joining in the conversation.

“Catra!” said maybe too loudly Alex, blushing a little, “I-I mean, yes... kinda. But obviously!”

Now he was jumping again from excitement.

“She has big muscles, flowy hair and... oh! A pretty dress!” he said, sparkles in his eyes.

Selena... couldn’t help but look at him attentively.

This little boy, talking about these things, like dresses, make-up, rainbows and unicorns with such vigour.

And all she could see was... happiness.

Enthusiasm, joy, excitement.

Such genuine passion and happiness could be hardly seen in many’s eyes.

She went to the couch and took a seat.

“Alex, could you and Catra come seat here with me for a second?” she asked, intent clear in her eyes.

“Yeah!”

“Okay.”

After the two kids took a seat, Selena turned towards Alex.

“Hey sweetie, could you answer some of my questions?” said Selena.

“Okie!”

“Tell me, what’s your favourite colour?”

“Rainbow!”

“That’s not a colour, dummy.”

“It’s okay Catarina. Alex, if I were to buy you a pretty rainbow dress, would you be happy?”

“Sugar snaps, yes!”

“And what’s your favourite fantasy creature?”

“Unicorns!”

“Okay, last question. But promise me that you’ll be completely honest.”

“Alright!”

“That day when you stole my make-up, you did enjoy it, did you?”

Now Alex’s eyes changed drastically.

All of the happiness from before was gone, and now they were filled with sadness and... shame?

“Y-yeah.” he answered, looking down.

Selena paused, really looked at him, and then...

“Me too!” she said, making Alex’s head turn sharply in her direction, “Maybe you can change Catarina’s mind about these things, so we’ll finally have something in common!”

To that, Alex gave her a toothy smile: “I don’t think that’s possible!”

“Yes! It is impossible! I’ll never be more _girly_ or whatever!” said Catra while standing up on the couch and doing a little pout.

Selena couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“I was joking! Come on, group hug.” she said while opening her arms.

Alex immediately went to hug her, (he loves hugs!), but Catra hesitated a few seconds before joining them. It was all a façade though.

Catra _loved_ her mamá’s hugs.

And while Selena was hugging these two dorky kids, she couldn’t help but love the warmth it gave her.

_She had been such an idiot._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god, is that character development?!
> 
> And yes, the shoes with the lipstick are supposed to be Lelly Kellys, I can't let go of my childhood*-*
> 
> Anyway, Alex is going to change the world with his smile. Especially after the new She-ra came out.
> 
> Wait, where have I heard that name before?

**Author's Note:**

> My accounts!
> 
> Instagram: @rozinside_  
> Twitter for drawings: @rozinside_  
> Twitter for fanfics: @Rozz26361355


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